"The lack of clarity surrounding his alleged offenses, coupled with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s failure to specify any crimes Khalil committed, raises serious concerns about the criminalization of pro-Palestinian advocacy, the suppression of student activism, and the use of immigration policies as a tool to silence political dissent."
March 13, 2025
Dear Global News team,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East to thank you for your article, “Who is Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian Columbia grad facing deportation?”
At a time when political discourse around Palestine is frequently misrepresented, silenced, or buried at the very end of articles, your piece provided important coverage of the troubling and deeply unjust circumstances surrounding Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest and detention.
I especially appreciated that your article counterbalanced the unsubstantiated allegations against Khalil, including the dangerous and inflammatory rhetoric used by President Trump and other officials, who labeled him a “Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student” without evidence. The lack of clarity surrounding his alleged offenses, coupled with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s failure to specify any crimes Khalil committed, raises serious concerns about the criminalization of pro-Palestinian advocacy, the suppression of student activism, and the use of immigration policies as a tool to silence political dissent.
That said, while your article took meaningful steps toward balanced reporting, I encourage you to further contextualize Khalil’s activism within the broader history of student-led divestment movements such as BDS and the criminalization of pro-Palestinian advocacy in the West. His case is not an isolated incident but part of a wider pattern of state repression against anyone who challenges Israel’s genocide in occupied Gaza, its apartheid policies, and its ongoing ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Overall, I thank you for your balanced coverage. I urge you to continue shedding light in future reporting with the same level of journalistic integrity.
Best regards,
Lynn Naji
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East